Beauty Blog Link Love

 Over at theNotice, Rae shares an amazingly pigmented bright blue eye -- done with shadows from the drugstore!

This week, Louise gets an (almost!) exclusive look at a Lancome mascara that has them queuing down the aisles in Harrods, and promises better lashes in a month.
 
Yinnie Dances with the fairies with her fairy inspired EOTD.
 
Phyrra dishes with Britton from Haus of Gloi for this month's Indie Spotlight at Fresco Phyrra.

Blaq Vixen Beauty decides to treat her skin to a Clinique Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector Regimen!

Retrodiva checks out three new innovative drugstore foundations. See which ones she would recommend!
 

Krasey Beauty takes a trip across the pond to bring you complete swatches and a review of MAC's newest, Give Me Liberty of London.
 
Looking for a great cream eyeliner that won't break the bank? Lipglossiping may have just the thing...
 
Sophie from melovemakeup talks about how much she loves Trilogy's Everything Balm.
 
TheLipPrint adds a little more Allure to her life with Chanel.

Michelle at Lipstick Rules laments her Liberty Of London lipstick purchases... but then finds a way to make it work!
 

Check out the swatches of Yummy Mummy by butter LONDON at Makeup4All.
 
Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed falls in love with the 10 year anniversary editions of Lancôme Juicy Tubes!
 
Follow Jellyminx's step-by-step tutorial for a pinky-coral look for Spring.
 
Over at Music and Make Up, Jo celebrates her birthday with a purple smokey eye courtesy of MAC's Violet Pigment.

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Beautywoome has a giveaway with Europe's coolest new beauty brand. Win 1 of 10 Ellis Faas Ellis Red lipsticks.
 
Audrey Dao is giving away $89 worth of Napolean Perdis makeup as part of her 1 year blog anniversary.
 
Mz More at The Glamorous Gleam is having a giveaway in honor of her 200+ Followers. Check out the goodies galore!
 
Cindy from Prime Beauty gives you the Golden Ticket to win a Bliss "Best of Bliss Set".

Hope you enjoyed this week's Link Love! See you soon :)

Shameless plug!

One of my lovely readers - Nick, look out for her in a makeover soon! - has nominated me for a Little Blog award on the Dorset Cereals website.  If you click here to vote for me, you could win yourself a prize, too!

(Not Quite) A Hair Disaster ...

Was at the hairdresser yesterday, and this is the fruit of their labours.  It's beautifully shiny, and I love how they dried my hair, although it dropped quite drastically on my rainy walk to the tube, but ... well, I did NOT enjoy my salon experience all that much.

I've mentioned before that I find trying new hairdressers a bit stressful, particularly when it comes to colour, and yesterday's experience wasn't one that'll have me beating a path back to to this particular salon's door, I'm afraid. During the initial consultation, the stylist ignored my requests not to make it too dark, and completely dismissed my suggestion that maybe she could mix two shades, (the sample swatch was a really "flat" brown, and my hair has a lot of red in it, naturally, and I wanted the colour to reflect that).  Then, she called over another colourist with the express purpose of having two people telling me I was wrong.

Nice.

The rest of the colour process was fine, two colours  were mixed and it was pretty uneventful (except being repeatedly called "hunni", which drove me nuts, "Are you alright, hunni?" "Do you need a magazine, hunni?" "I'll just be another hour with this other customer, hunni, okay?" Seriously I could practically see the heart-shaped dot over the i), and after the least relaxing, and actually quite painful rinse-out - seriously, I spent the entire thing in a flinch, and I LOVE having my hair washed! - I went over for the blowdry, with another stylist.

And I loved it! She asked me if I wanted something bouncy, and she did a wonderful job, just what was needed.  My hair was glossy and full of body, bounce and shine.  Simply perfect.

But ... the colourist then came over, and pronounced "See! Not too dark at all! We knew what we were doing all along!".  Well, actually, it is too dark - and it hasn't escaped me that it would have been darker still if I hadn't put put my foot down -  it's just not as dark as I was scared it was going to be.

But I was feeling thoroughly patronised at this point, so when she went on to point out the virtues of me not ever using permanent dye again (in that special voice people tend to save for the elderly, the insane or the foreign, you know the one I mean), I'd about had enough. I know I'm not trendy, I know I'm not young'n'funky any longer, and  I know I've made a few jokes recently about being senile, but I am not ready to be treated like an elderly maiden aunty who has just asked for a violet rinse in Toni & Guy ....

I didn't complain, because, really, how do you complain about being patronised by someone half your age?  And what would the salon have done anyway? My hair, actually, is fine, I just hated every moment of the experience!

Here's a pic to exmplify how much darker it is than usual:

Like I said, it's not bad, it's just ... not what I wanted.

So, can everyone tell me about their hair disasters please, so I don't feel too much like Morticia's granny any more?

Chanel Coco Rouge Swatches

I make no apologies whatsoever for featuring Chanel's latest lipstick offerings once again. Beyond gorgeous formulations, pigmented, light and beautifully moisturising, they're everything YSL Rouge Voluptes should be, but aren't (I'll give you my thoughts on those another time).

Since I unexpectedly picked up Cambon way back in January, I've since been out and bought two more, Mademoiselle, and Rouge Orage.  Cambon is a bright - BRIGHT! - hot pink, which leans towards orange, Mademoiselle is a lovely nude rose, and Rouge Orage is a soft blood-red.  I find the colours last three to four hours before they need a touch up.  There is a hint of the classic Chanel lipstick scent (which I happen to adore, but I know some people have a problem with scents), and they cover the lips perfectly in one swipe.

On the lips, Cambon:

Last time I swatched this, the pictures made it look rather too scarlet.  This is a much better representation of the colour, a hot, hot pink, with no real blue undertones.  A happy-making colour.

Mademoiselle:

This is the signature shade of the range, and possibly rightfully so.  I've seen a lot of swatches of this recently, and I think it's a very nice neutral, goes-with-anything colour and it seems to suit most people, though I've noticed it can look a fair bit redder on people with a lot of pink in their skin.  My hands are pinker than my face, and I've noticed the hand swatch is redder than the lip swatch as a result.  On my lips, however, it's a wonderful nude-shade.

I love this colour!  Haven't seem this one getting too much attention lately, but when I went on a mad swatching-frenzy in my local Debenhams recently (seriously, I got through a box of kleenex and half a bottle of their makeup remover, they hate me in there), this shade just called out to me.  It's a warm, but not too orange red, that's quite suitable for daytime wear.  It doesn't, in all honesty, look like anything out of the ordinary in the tube, dare I say it even looks a bit dull? But put this on skin, and it's beautiful.  It might just be my new favourite red, as it very wearable, and not too garish. Not as scary as it might look in the tube, well, I think so anyway.

Will you be trying any of the Rouge Cocos?  What's your favourite shade? Rouge Cocos are widely available now, and cost £21.

My top ten brushes

(Okay, it’s not actually going to be a top ten.  It’s not even going to be a top seven, as pictured, it’s a top eight – I’m a photographic-doofus, sorry!)

During Foundation Week recently, I mentioned my flat top kabuki brush a lot, and people on Twitter were asking me about my favourite makeup brushes as a result.  I’m not  a brush expert though, and many of my brushes are very, very old, but I do find myself reaching for a couple of classics over and over and over again.
In the same order as the picture:



This is an old – a very old – MAC 218SE, a flat, animal-hair eye brush that is perfect for colour-washes.  It’s a very soft, silky feeling brush that grabs powder shadows well, and is great for blending.  I use this to add the base colour of whichever eyeshadow I’m wearing for the day (I tend to only use two different eyeshadow shades in most of my makeup looks).


This is a Benefit “Talent” brush, which is the one I use for applying cream eyeshadows.  It’s flat synthetic brush, which is a bit less “grabby” than the 218, it doesn’t pick up powders as well, but with a cream, it deposits a smooth veil of colour on the eyelid.  The rounded edge doubles up as an eyeliner brush, though it’s a bit wider than the eyeliner brushes I’ll talk about later.


This is a very old Smashbox “pencil” or “bullet” brush, which I use entirely for defining the my eyelid crease, which is where I wear a darker shade in 80% of my own makeup looks. I find this technique makes my lids look less hooded.  Lots of companies make brushes like these now, but when I first got this one, around ten years ago, it was revolutionary!  This and the 218 are the two brushes I use on a daily basis almost without fail.



This is the infamous flat-topped kabuki brush which is my latest obsession!  I received it in a swap from a lovely  US reader, and it’s had a centre spot in my collection ever since.  This one is from ELF, and it’s a round, densely packed brush, which is great for picking up liquids.  I put foundation on the back of my hand, dab the brush into the liquid, then “buff” it very gently into my skin.  I find it leaves an almost perfect airbrushed kind of effect when I use it.  I much prefer it to the flat “hard” foundation brushes (similar to the Benefit brush above, but larger), which I find can leave you a bit streaky.

It also works really well with powders – it’s a very soft synthetic, brush – and doesn’t leave you with a cake-y effect when you use it. I bought a back-up of this for powders.  For £3.50, this is a bargain!



This is a MAC 266SE, which I find to be ideal as an eyeliner brush, in particular for using powder eyeshadows as eyeliners, which is something I do a great deal, to the extent that it’s a very rare day indeed when I use a pencil-eyeliner at all!  This brush is great because it’s fairly stiff, so it doesn’t splay when you press it against your eyelid, and unlike many cheaper versions, it’s thin enough that if you’re going for a very subtle thin liner effect you can do it.  I also use this for putting powder shadow on the waterline, which of course, I cannot possibly recommend anyone does, ever, but I do do it occasionally.  Allegedly.


This is a MAC 224SE, which is a very soft, very fluffy synthetic brush that I use for blending.  Especially useful since I started using Urban Decay Primer Potion on a daily basis!  Doesn’t rub and tug your skin so much as using your fingers does.


This is an ELF smudge brush, which has short, quite stiff (but yielding) synthetic bristles, it’s the most recent addition to my brush collection, and it’s one I like a great deal – in fact, it’s another one I have two of.  I use one for cream or gel eyeliners, I prefer it to the 266 for those, as there is less surface area for the product to dry out on as you’re applying them.  It’s also very good for tightlining, which is something I like to do to my upper lashes upon occasion.  I use the other one for cleaning up my cuticles after a messy manicure.  Again, excellent value from the people as ELF.

And last, but by no means least, my blush brush, which is a MAC 129SE (all my MAC brushes are special editions, I much prefer the shorter handles):


It’s not the greatest blusher brush in the world, it’s slightly too scratchy, but it does give a nice soft finish to blush, when it’s applied.  Whenever you see me use Cargo illuminator, I’ve used this to apply it, as it doesn’t deposit the colour in clumps as some brushes can.  I also have a denser animal-hair brush from Smashbox, which gives heavier coverage, and as a result, I mainly use that one for contouring.  Which I don’t do often.

As for looking after my brushes, I tend to wash them with a brush cleanser or shampoo on a weekly/monthly basis depending on how often I’ve used them, and I give them a quick clean on a cleansing wipe immediately after using them on a daily basis.  My advice basically is to  spend whatever you’re happy to spend on brushes, (and if that’s nothing, then so be it! Make up is all about finding out what suits you, and that applies to application methods as much as colours and the like), but whatever brushes you have, look after them!  The vast majority of my brushes are around ten years old (some are even older, I have a Body shop brush here that’s got Barbara Daly’s signature on it!), but if it weren’t for the worn off numbers, and slightly chipped handles, you’d never know.

What are your favourite brushes?  What have I missed? What2 brushes do I absolutely need to make up my top ten?

Organic Wednesday - Neal's Yard Wild Rose Elixir

I've mentioned Neal's Yard a few times before, I'm a big fan of their distinctively packaged, gloriously scented and usually highly natural products.  When the chance came up to take a look at their new Beauty Elixir, which is part of their Wild Rose range - I already own the balm, and the facial oil in this range too! - I jumped at it. 

Here's what Neal's Yard say about the product

A nourishing radiance boost for ALL SKIN TYPES

Luxurious new Wild Rose Beauty Elixir is enriched with wild rosehip oil, one of nature’s richest sources of antioxidant vitamin C, proven to help repair, firm and smooth the skin, ultra-moisturising hyaluronic acid, brightening turmeric, an anti-ageing peptide and the pure essential oils of frankincense and geranium. Use morning and evening after cleansing for radiantly glowing skin.

Then, once it arrived, I kicked myself quite thoroughly, as I realised I was already committed to trying out 42, 135,438,431,518 squillion other facial products so I did the decent thing and handed over the £42.50 bottle over to my friend Sarah.  Here's what she had to say about it:

"I'm not really one for make-up routines. My skin's lucky enough to have the makeup washed off it at the end of the day. So when Lippie asked me to test this Neal's Yard Beauty Elixir, I went a bit blank.

Me: "OK, I like Neals Yard. The bottles are pretty. What do I do with it then?"

Lippie: "It's a serum"

Me: "Uh..."

Lippie: "Just put it on before you apply moisturiser"

Me: "That's the greasy stuff in the jar that you made me buy, isn't it?" <-- well, I would have said that, except Lippie had THAT look on her face, so I nodded wisely instead.

Lippie: "Take a picture of your face before you start, then one about a week later, and tell me how you get on. Simple! Now pour me another glass of wine if you know what's good for you..."

I do know what's good for me, and arguing with Lippie isn't. 


I'm 43, with unevenly pigmented, ageing combination skin. It used be a zit factory; now it's just slightly dry.

The serum comes in a pretty, blue, typical Neals Yard bottle. I couldn't see an ingredients list, but the ads seem to imply that it has some kind of rose hip extraction. I suppose that means that it's Good For You. A bit of explanation about what the rose hips actually did for my skin that other plant extracts don't (apart from making it smell purty) would have been nice. I mean, does it calm the skin? plump it up? eliminate blotchiness and at least three of the Six Signs of Ageing?? (It's 10 Signs of Ageing now, do keep up - Ed)

Eventually I found some instructions in a corner of the label, which said, "Apply with fingertips in a circular massage motion".

There was no indication as to how much, so I experimented with two drops.The serum was cool and velvety on my skin, and absorbed after a few rubs. On the hand it felt quite rich, and smelled faintly of roses. My face looked considerably pinker after application, but calmed down after a few minutes. On went the usual winter face, and off I went to work.

Looking in the mirror after two weeks of daily treatment, I'd say that my skin is still unevenly pigmented, but ever-so-slightly pinker, clearer and smoother to touch. Clear smoothness: good. Extra pinkness: not so good. The pre-menstrual breakouts were fairly minimal too, though whether this was down to the serum or actually following a proper moisturising regime, I couldn't say.

As for the price tag; £42.50 is more than I would pay for any kind of moisturiser, especially one that may or may not work. It smells pretty and didn't burn my face off, so I'll probably continue using it until the weather brightens up a bit and I only need a bit of tinted moisturiser to loosen up my face. But I don't think I'll be rushing to replace it when/if it finally runs out."

Okay, whilst this possibly isn't the most glowing review ever (and, I remember the conversation somewhat differently, iirc the wine reference came a LOT earlier!), but, I will say this, I had dinner with Sarah last night, and she was glowing.  I could see the difference in her skin, even if she couldn't! If I could guarantee my skin would look as good after a couple of weeks use, I'd have snatched the bottle back there and then!

Organic Wednesday - A'kin Rosehip Oil

Two organic posts for you today!  First up, A'kin.

Part of the Australian Purist Company, A'kin promises the following about their products:

[A'kin] and [Al'chemy] products are formulated free from sulfates, parabens, ethoxylated and petrochemical cleansers, propylene glycol, silicones, phthalates, mineral oils, DEA and artificial colours.Our products are ingredient rich, vegan, 100% natural botanical aromatherapy and formulated without animal ingredients or animal testing.


I'd heard a lot of good things about their rosehip oil - rosehip oil generally is considered a great skin-loving ingredient, plus, I have very fond memories of snaffling my baby sister's rosehip syrup as a child, so was looking forward to trying this.  I used it for a couple of weeks, and found it to be a lovely moisture boost to my dry skin, but my friend Seona was looking to try some oils that had some therapeutic benefits after a disastrous trial of an oil-based cleanser, so, being the kind-hearted soul that I am, I passed my bottle along.  Here's what Seona made of it:

I was given A’kin Rosehip Oil to trial. The bottle tells me it has Pro Vitamin A, Vitamin E and Omega 9,3 & 6. It also says it’s revitalising, brightening and restorative. I’m always look for a bit of revitalisation for my skin, so I was looking forward to trying it.


The recommendation is to apply 2-3 drops to the face and neck, once a day for oily/combination skins or twice for other skins. I tried to use it twice a day for the first week, switching to once a day for the second week as I am just not organised enough and my skin is combination.

The oil itself is bright orange, which I wasn’t quite expecting as the bottle is tinted brown so you can’t see what you’re getting. This isn’t fragranced and smells of, well, plant is the best I can do. It’s not an unpleasant smell, just a very natural one. The packaging is a medicinal looking glass bottle with an old-fashioned dropper with rubber top. The dropper does collect a lot of oil in it, so I generally squeezed most of it straight back into the bottle to avoid accidentally using too much. That’s probably overcautious of me as the dropper does only dispense one drop at a time, making it very easy to control the amount you use.

A little of this goes a very long way, so the 2-3 drops direction is about right. I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly it absorbs, especially as I was using it in the mornings and worried I’d have to wait ages before applying make up. It sank straight into my skin and I could apply my tinted moisturiser almost immediately.

Results wise, I can’t say I noticed a massive change in my skin. My skin certainly felt soft, but it looked much the same as always. However, I do like this as a winter base for my tinted moisturiser. I felt like I needed a little extra moisturise and after applying the oil my moisturiser went on a lot smoother than without any sort of base. The other good point, and this isn’t on the bottle at all, but my hands looked a lot better from rubbing the excess oil in. Using this oil regularly meant all those little bits of loose skin around my fingernails disappeared, leaving me with much nicer hands.

Overall verdict: As an extra layer of moisture in winter I’d use this product, it was a nice extra boost. It just didn’t do much in the way of revitalising or brightening for me. Having said that, I do have fairly good skin and it might work better for someone with dryer skin than mine.

So there you have it, have you tried A'kin products, or rosehip oils on your skin?  How did you get along?

A'kin products are available from Wholefoods, and independent chemists.

The Small Print: This product came from my own collection, all reviews are honest and impartial regardless of the source.  Man, I could murder a Malteaster Bunny right about now.